The TON blockchain has increased its speed tenfold and now plans to reduce fees as upper layers 1 (L1) compete for users.
On April 9, Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced that the recent update, Catchain 2.0, was successful. According to him, blockchain now creates blocks six times faster and transactions are now “instantaneous, in less than a second”.
Durov added that the 10x faster speed was the first of seven steps in the blockchain overhaul plan, dubbed the Make TON Great Again (MTONGA) framework. The second step will reduce the transaction cost by 6x.
Will the upgrades improve TON’s business?
According to ChainSpect, TON now ranks as the 14th fastest blockchain network. On sub-second block times, it only rivals Solana and BNB Chain.
It is worth highlighting that BNB Chain has also made updates to increase its speed and reduce transaction costs. The end goal is to attract users looking for faster and cheaper transfers that can also strengthen other DeFi applications.
This is especially true for stablecoin transfers, which are dominated by Ethereum. However, increasing competition from cheaper options like TronSolana, BNB Channeland now TONNE has reduced its market share in stablecoin settlement.
Currently, TON’s average transfer cost is around $0.00315, while Solana charges $0.00201. In other words, Solana is 40% cheaper than TON.
But if 6x lower fees were achieved, TON would be 3.5x or 72% cheaper than Solana. This would be a competitive advantage, particularly for stablecoin transfers.
At the time of writing, TON was the 13th largest chain in terms of stable liquidity. Despite this, the TON blockchain has seen a broader downward trend in activity since late 2024.
DEX volumes fell from a high of $1.4 billion in 2024 to $26 million in April 2026. Similarly, TVL (total value locked) fell from an all-time high of $766 million to $55 million.
But the decline in activity was due to a broader contraction in the market. But it remains to be seen whether the price reduction will attract new users to the chain.
Final summary
- TON is now 10x faster and could soon be 3.5x cheaper than Solana amid fierce competition for on-chain users.
- Telegram’s Pavel Durov said the plans are part of the Make TON Great Again (MTONGA) framework as the channel’s activity slows down.
